SCAA 2014 Best New Product Winners Announced
Each year, the Specialty Coffee Association’s Best New Product Competition recognizes new products that represent quality and add value to the specialty coffee and tea industry. Awards were presented at the SCAA’s 26th Annual Exposition, April 24-27, 2013 in Seattle, WA. The Best New Product People’s Choice Award encouraged attendees to cast their votes via …
Changing How We Cope with Climate Change: Inside UTZ Coffee Climate Care
This article is SCAA Collaborative Content in partnership with UTZ Certified Climate change, without a doubt, is the elephant in the room when it comes to specialty coffee. Arabica beans, with the complex web of variables affecting their quality, are known to be the “canary in the coal mine” of the changing face of agriculture. …
On Being a Green Coffee Buyer
by Mike McKim, founder/CEO, Cuvée Coffee When I began building a coffee roasting business over 15 years ago, I wasn’t sure what to expect. To be honest, I didn’t know a lot going in. I just started moving in a direction, and because I tend to act first and ask questions later, it’s been a …
SCAA Announces Results for the 2014 / 2015 Board of Directors Election
The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) has announced the results of the 2014/2015 Board of Directors election. Voting ended March 22, votes were tallied, and SCAA can now confirm that the new board members are: Ben Pitts, 2nd Vice President Aida Batlle, Director Juan Luis-Barrios, Director Rachel Peterson, Director Chad Trewick, Director “We are …
SCAA Election Demonstrates Democracy at its Best
By Andrew Hetzel Winston Churchill once said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all of the others.” Despite its inefficiencies and occasional failings, democracy provides individuals the rights of free expression, equality and the benefits of a peaceful transfer of power between administrations. In short, Democracy works. Democracy is a word that …
SCAA Announces Recipients of 2014 Recognition Awards
Honoring those who contribute their expertise to the coffee industry, the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) has announced the recipients of its 2014 Recognition Awards. Each year, SCAA honors outstanding achievements in the specialty coffee industry and unique contributions to the association. These leaders have made contributions to the industry, resulting in the development …
SCAA Volunteer Highlight: Spencer Turer
Name: Spencer TurerTitle: Vice PresidentCompany: Coffee Analysts How long have you been volunteering for SCAA? In 2000 I joined an SCAA committee and have volunteered on a committee every year since. Today, I am Chairman of the Technical Edit and Peer Review Committee and a member of the Technical Standards committee What was the first SCAA event …
A Passage from Out of Africa
by Isak Dinesen Coffee-growing is a long job. It does not all come out as you imagine, when, yourself young and hopeful, in the streaming rain, you carry the boxes of your shining young coffee-plants from the nurseries, and, with the whole number of farm-hands in the field, watch the plants set in the regular …
The Necessity of Being a Producer-Friendly Coffee Buyer
by Peter Giuliano, Director, SCAA The job of coffee buyer is an amazing one. I mean—the job is to taste coffee. What could be better than that? The work of selecting, roast profiling, blending, describing, and selling coffee requires tremendous expertise and dedication, and is one of the most sought-after roles in the industry. Sometimes, …
Basic Plant Biology: Keeping the Coffee Plant “Happy”
By EMMA SAGE, Coffee Science Manager at the SCA. What Plants Need A healthy, “happy” coffee plant is one that is able to produce the greatest number of quality seeds. There are three main factors influencing the “happiness” of a plant: genetics, the environment, and applied agricultural management. Since there is no exact formula to …
Challenges in Coffee Processing: An Opportunity in Disguise to Foster a New Breed of Coffee Growers
by Alejandro Cadena, Managing Director, Virmax Café Every stage of coffee production is important to guaranteeing a high-quality product. What starts with good seed selection, and continues with careful picking, can end very badly at the last stage: processing, or post-harvest (wet milling and drying). Independent of the size of the producer, be it a micro-scale …
What is “The Market” Anyway?
by Ric Rhinehart, Executive Director, SCAA Any time coffee folks are gathered, conversation will inevitably include a reference to “the market.” “Did you get the market today?” or “Where did the market close?” and similar conversation-starters are a mainstay in coffee circles everywhere. There are specialty players who take a particular pride in denying their …